front of him. When she had gone upstairs he led the two gentlemen to
the office entrance and began to complain: "Ah! doctor, if you only knew
what trouble I have even to get those girls to wash their hands! We who
are so clean! who put all our pride in keeping the house clean. If ever
a speck of dust is seen anywhere it is certainly not my fault."

Since the girl had gone upstairs a fearful tumult had arisen on the
upper floors, whence also a vile smell descended. Some dispute, some
battle, seemed to be in progress. There were shouts and howls, followed
by a furious exchange of vituperation.

"Pray excuse me," at last exclaimed Monsieur Broquette; "my wife will
receive you in a minute."

Thereupon he slipped off and flew up the stairs with noiseless agility.
And directly afterwards there was an explosion. Then the house suddenly
sank into death-like silence. All that could be heard was the voice
of Madame in the office, as, in a very dignified manner, she kept on
praising her goods.

"Well, my friend," said Boutan to Mathieu, while they walked up and down
the passage, "all this, the material side of things, is nothing. What
you should see and know is what goes on in the minds of all these
people. And note that this is a fair average place. There are others
which are real dens, and which the police sometimes have to close. No
doubt there is a certain amount of supervision, and there are severe
regulations which compel the nurses to bring certificates of morality,
books setting forth their names, ages, parentage, the situations
they have held, and so on, with other documents on which they have
immediately to secure a signature from the Prefecture, where the final
authorization is granted them. But these precautions don't prevent
fraud and deceit of various kinds. The women assert that they have only
recently begun nursing, when they have been doing it for months; they
show you superb children which they have borrowed and which they assert
to be their own. And there are many other tricks to which they resort in
their eagerness to make money."

As the doctor and Mathieu chatted on, they paused for a moment near the
door of the refectory, which chanced to be open, and there, among other
young peasant women, they espied La Couteau hastily partaking of
cold meat. Doubtless she had just arrived from Rougemont, and, after
disposing of the batch of nurses she had brought with her, was seeking
sustenance for the various visi